Jim Furyk has one-shot lead in PGA

The essential part of shooting a good score and taking the third-round lead at the PGA Championship, Jim Furyk said, was not being bothered by disappointments. This is a skill that he had a chance to practice an awful lot last year.

He let the 2012 U.S. Open slip away on the final hole, the same way he lost the WGC Bridgestone Invitational. He also foundered at the finish of the Ryder Cup. Despite all of that, he had the resolve to put himself in prime position again Saturday, shooting 2-under-par 68 at Oak Hill and getting to 9 under.

If he also has put himself in position for another disappointment, so be it. "People always ask, would you rather be one ahead or one back. Well, I'd rather be one ahead," said the 43-year-old who has been on a 10-year quest to follow up his one major championship, the 2003 U.S. Open.

Furyk is comfortable with his one-shot lead over Jason Dufner, who had his own struggles but finished with a par putt on No. 18 that looked wide, paused and went in from the side of the hole, giving him a 71.

Furyk, having joked this week that reporters are trying to bring him down when they bring up his 0-for-4 record with 54-hole leads in 2012, is looking only ahead.

"I've been relaxed this week and felt very calm out there, even when I have not hit good shots. I really haven't let it bother me at all, and that's why on a bad start today, I was able to come back and turn it into a good round," Furyk said after making the sort of clutch 15-foot par putt on 18 that he often failed to sink last year.

Other players can make Sunday interesting, too. Dufner, coming off a majors record-tying 63 Friday, did not crumble after hitting his tee shot in the water for double bogey on No. 5. He played 1 under the rest of the day.

Right behind him, at 7- and 6-under, respectively, are Henrik Stenson and Jonas Blixt, each trying to give Sweden its first men's major title.

At 5 under are Adam Scott, the reigning Masters champion who played poorly and shot 72, and Steve Stricker, who shot 70 and is aiming for his first major toward the end of a solid career.

"There is a lot of pressure," Dufner said. "Some guys show it, some guys hide it. Me and Jim hide it pretty well. It's just that guys deal with it differently."

Pressure was thick among the leaders, and proved too heavy for some. Matt Kuchar and U.S. Open champion Justin Rose dropped out of sight with 76 and 77, respectively. The struggles resounded all over the course. "You have got to take care of the stuff you can do something about," Blixt said. "I mean, you can't really affect anyone else. It's not ice hockey we're playing here."

Furyk seemed on thin ice, with bogeys on Nos. 2 and 3. "I was able to not let things faze me today. I slowly kind of got my rhythm back," he said, adding that he got going with a successful 10-foot birdie putt on the par-5 fourth. "Then I kind of started just plodding along, fairways and greens."

That sums up a career path that has yielded 16 PGA Tour victories. He was asked to compare his golf to the way his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers play football, and he did not shy from the question.

"My grandparents were mill workers. I learned a great work ethic from my parents and they learned it from their parents. It's part of Pittsburgh," he said. "I think it's probably not a lot of bells and whistles, but go out there and give it your best and play hard."